Crystal Deception (7 page)

Chapter 8

Juice didn’t know what had been
decided or what might happen next, and the uncertainty was making her anxious.
She went on a long run to burn off some stress. Physically tired but emotionally
recharged, she headed to the Crystal Fab building.

She stepped into the lobby and Brady Sheldon scurried over. To
her dismay, he seemed determined to hold an impromptu meeting right there in
the public space. He didn’t appear to notice that she was panting from thirst and
glistening from her workout.

“I received an urgent message from Fleet.” He was more
breathless than she in his excitement. “They have some technical questions
about the plans for installing the four-gen on the
Alliance
. They want
you to go down to Fleet base in person and meet with their design people. They
asked specifically for you.” His heavy-handed management style weighed on her.
“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you to be cooperative. We don’t want any more
delays or to give the bastards any reason to slow the project down. You have my
approval to make whatever decisions you think will tighten the schedule for
deployment. The shortest timetable is my highest priority.” As he walked away,
he called over his shoulder, “Call me if I can be of help.”

The trip took almost two hours, but Juice eventually arrived
at the systems tech building on Fleet’s sprawling base. She was both amused and
disappointed to find that it was located next to the waste treatment station. Feeling
a mixture of anticipation and curiosity, she climbed the steps and entered a building
that a decade ago would have generously been labeled as “aging.”

She was greeted in a cheerless lobby and escorted back to a
small, windowless room that held a table, four chairs, and little else. She
looked around and thought it seemed more like a holding cell than a technical
conference room.

* * *

Cheryl sat with Sid in a small room next
door to where Juice waited. Theirs had a newly installed image projection
system, which they used to watch her.

They agreed they wanted Juice as part of the team. She had a
positive relationship with Criss and worked closely with Sheldon. If she could
be cleared of any involvement in the intrigue, she would be a great resource
going forward.

Cheryl was already convinced that she was clean. “Are you positive
we need to do this?” she asked Sid, having second and third thoughts about
their plan.

“I’ve been fooled before. We’re all here. Let’s take a few
minutes to push on her and see how she holds up.”

Sid was about to lead off as the bad cop in a “good cop, bad
cop” interview. As a Fleet officer, Cheryl had no training in the technique.
When she expressed this reservation to Sid, he assured her that as good cop,
she would go second. All she needed to do was be her normal, kind self and watch
for signs of deception.

They got up together, walked the few steps down the hall,
and entered the room.

“Morning, Juice,” said Cheryl. “Did you have any trouble
finding the place?”

Juice lit up. “Hey guys, what brings you to engineering?”

They looked at her without comment.

“This isn’t a tech review.” She looked from one to the
other, and smiled. “Well done.”

Sid didn’t waste any time. “Do you have something for us
from Criss?”

“From Criss?” Juice asked.

“Yes.”

Juice’s excitement disappeared. “All I have is a message
from the four-gen. I was thinking that’s why you guys were here.”

Realizing what was happening, Cheryl said, “The four-gen
told us he prefers to be called Criss. He said that’s his name.”

“He did? Criss? That’s so cool. I wonder why he never
mentioned it to me.” She drifted away for a moment, lost in thought.

Sid got her attention back in short order. “Juice, what do
you have for us from Criss?”

From his brusque manner, Cheryl sensed that bad cop was a
role that came easily to him.

Juice was again animated. “First, I’m supposed to tell you
that it will take some effort on your part to chase things down. The amount of
information that can be transferred by voice from Criss to me to you is very
limited.” She said the name Criss with a huge grin. “I have three web points from
him, and hopefully I get them right when I tell you.”

Juice wrote some lengthy scribbles on a pad. Cheryl took it
from her and looked at it. “Let me get this over to research for a review.
Would either of you like a drink?”

“Water, please,” Juice said.

“Coffee. Black, thanks,” said Sid.

Cheryl left and moved quickly to the adjacent room so she wouldn’t
miss any action. She sat down and set the pad aside. Techs located elsewhere
received the info as Juice wrote it. They were already deep into their work.

Sid made his opening gambit. “Juice, our investigation shows
there’s a scam being played. But it’s not by Brady Sheldon. The evidence points
to you.”

“What?” Her face showed complete bewilderment.

“We think you’re the one orchestrating Criss’s kidnapping.”

Juice looked at him and started twirling a lock of hair. “Why
are you saying this? I’m here trying to help,” she said, indignation slipping
into her tone. She turned in her chair so her knees were pointing away from
him.

As Cheryl watched, she recalled Sid telling her that the
first reaction of the guilty tends to be defensive or aggressive behavior. This
was not that. She sympathized with Juice and wondered why Sid was being so
rough.

He wasn’t done. “My question is whether you’re conspiring
with Criss. Or perhaps he’s deceiving you?”

“Deceiving me?” Her twirling accelerated.

He pushed onward. “Your signature is all over this. The only
thing we don’t know is if you and Criss are working together.” He paused. “Come
to think of it, Criss is so much smarter. Maybe he’s playing you. Maybe you’ve
become a willing pawn in his game.”

A tear rolled down Juice’s cheek and she blinked rapidly.

He pointed at her. “Innocent people defend themselves. They
don’t cry.”

“I’m trying to stop something bad from happening.” Tears streaked
her face. “Why are you acting this way? I’m on your side!” There were no
tissues in the room, so she wiped her face on her sleeve.

“Do you admit it’s possible?” Sid insisted. “You’re smart
enough to know it is.”

“Lots of things are possible,” she said, regaining some
composure. “But that’s not the same as saying they’re likely or true. I think the
four-gen—Criss—is concerned about being taken by the Kardish. I think he
believes Sheldon is involved. I think he thinks you and I can help him. If you
won’t help, then I’ll find someone who will.” She crossed her arms across her
chest, then leaned forward like she was about to stand.

Cheryl reached her limit. She grabbed beverages from the
service unit and hustled next door. “Water and coffee,” she announced as she
entered. She set the cups down and surveyed the scene. “What happened?” She
handed Juice a napkin so she could wipe her face and looked at Sid like he was
some sort of monster.

Both Sid and Juice remained silent, looking neither at her or
each other. Sid took a sip of his coffee and grimaced, overacting a bit.

“I said black,” he growled peevishly. He stood up and turned
to the door, nodding ever so slightly to Cheryl to indicate that he thought Juice
was clean. As he stepped into the hallway, he heard Juice say quietly, “You
did.”

Sid went next door as Cheryl steeled herself to play good
cop.

“So tell me what happened, Juice,” she said, trying for a
compassionate tone.

“He thinks I’m the one trying to kidnap Criss.” Juice’s
downcast expression revealed her emotional turmoil, but she was no longer crying.
“He is a serious jerk.”

“The man’s an ass in so many ways,” Cheryl agreed, not
needing to act. “Did he tell you why he thought that?”

“I’ll be honest with you. He was coming at me fast and from
all directions. First, I was the one running some evil scheme. Then Criss and I
were. Then Criss was duping me and I was a puppet.” She looked up at Cheryl.
“Why would I become involved in such a lunatic idea? My work is what I care
about.”

Cheryl gave it a last shot. “Can you think of any reason why
Sid would be so insistent?”

Juice tilted her head and studied Cheryl for several seconds.
“You’re in on this. You’re both working me. Is he watching right now?” She
looked up at the ceiling and yelled, “Hey butt brain, I was here to help.” She pushed
back her chair and stood up.

Sid rushed in before she could leave. “Juice, would you give
us one more moment? Please, sit down.”

“I just was and it wasn’t fun,” she said. “I think I
misjudged you both.”

“Okay,” said Sid. “I was rough on you. It’s an important
part of the process of confirming that you’re not involved in any way.”

Cheryl looked at Sid with mixed feelings. There was no doubt
he was effective at this sort of thing, but he’d been too rough on Juice given
that the DSA research team had cleared her.

“That’s what you do, isn’t it, Sid?” Juice responded, her
tone carrying both an accusation and observation, and uttering his name as if
it were a four-letter word.

Good for you, girl,
thought Cheryl.

“You came to Crystal Fab and assessed Criss. And now I’m
getting the treatment.” Hands on her hips, Juice continued. “I hope you were
more respectful to him than you are to me, I’ll say that.”

Sid sat down and motioned for Juice to sit as well. She laid
her hand on the back of the chair but remained standing. Cheryl could tell that
she was no longer actively trying to leave, but she hadn’t yet committed to forgiving
them, either.

“Everything you said about me is true,” Sid wasn’t looking
at either Juice or Cheryl, but at a spot halfway between. “I’m an ass and…what
was it…butt brain? Yeah. I say and do things that hurt people, and I’m sorry
about that.” He shifted his gaze to Cheryl. “We accepted the role of serving
and protecting the Union. That means sometimes we’re required to do things we wish
we didn’t have to.”

He had Cheryl’s attention.
Are you speaking to me or to Juice?
she wondered.

“All three of us here are the good guys. Starting now, we’ll
treat each other that way.” He put his hands flat on the table and looked at Juice.
“We’d like you to be part of the planning team. We need to sort out what’s
going on with Sheldon, Criss, and the Kardish. You have unique relationships with
two of the three. Will you help us figure out our next steps?”

Cheryl hoped Juice would recognize her apologetic smile as
genuine, adding, “While that setup was stressful, it allowed us to assess your
motives. We had to go through that exercise before we could ask you to join us
as a partner. Juice, a lot of lives may depend on what we do next. We had to be
sure. I hope that makes sense to you.”

Sid and Cheryl stood up, slowly gathered their things to
create some delay, and started for the door.
Come on, Juice
, Cheryl
willed her.
You’re the only one who can make this decision.

They were in the hallway when Juice called, “Wait,” and followed
them out. “Before I do anything, I really need to check in. Sheldon’s probably
called me three times already. He’s so anxious to get the project moving.”

Yes!
Cheryl thought, having to stop herself from grasping
Juice in a hug.

Juice began to make the call, but stopped when Sid held up
his hand. “Everything we do as a team must be coordinated.”

Juice nodded absently, examining her com.

“I think she should make the call,” said Cheryl. “She should
tell him that things are moving quickly, and she’ll need to spend several days
down here over the next few weeks to help manage everything. This’ll give us
flexibility without raising suspicion over her absences.”

“That’s good,” said Sid. “I like it.”

“Also,” she continued, “we need to send a message to Criss.
He needs to know what we’re planning. If we don’t have him on our side, it’s
hard to imagine this going well.”

“Bad news, folks,” Juice said. “My com appears to have
died.”

“Com feeds have been restricted across the base,” Cheryl said.
“It’ll work in a special room we’ve set up.” She pointed to a door down the
hall.

* * *

Criss watched Sid, Cheryl, and Juice
walk into the special room at Fleet base.

Sid checked his com and then looked at Juice. “We have preliminary
feedback on the three leads from Criss. One is pretty damning for Sheldon and
his relationship with the Kardish. And the dates on the information go back to when
you were in high school.”

“Told you,” Juice muttered under her breath.

“The other two will take more time to flesh out, but it
seems they also show that Sheldon’s been scheming since long before you were
hired and Criss was created.”

She nodded and this time kept silent.

“Could Criss have planted these leads? It seems like it’d be
so easy for him.”

“No way,” said Juice, shaking her head. She explained about
the restrictor mesh and confirmed that she had designed it, built it, and
wrapped it around Criss herself. She was certain he wasn’t able to reach onto
the web and change anything or take any kind of independent action as long as
the mesh was in its current isolate mode setting.

Criss privately agreed. Juice’s mesh did an excellent job of
keeping him caged.

With the okay from Sid, Juice called Sheldon, who was
ecstatic to hear that Fleet was finally on board and committed to the project. Before
the call ended, Sheldon reminded Juice that she should do whatever was
necessary to keep the project moving forward as quickly as possible. Sheldon’s
motives had become so transparent to Criss that he had anticipated this
response, almost to the letter.